The first live-action Star Wars series to follow the success of The Mandalorian was the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, which aired on Disney+ earlier this year. Despite not having much to do in the original trilogy, the character of Boba Fett has always been a fan favorite. His less-than-satisfying death by Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi left many disappointed, which is why it was so exciting to see the character return to live-action during the second season of The Mandalorian.
Lucasfilm had previously tried bringing Boba back with a spin-off film similar to Rogue One and Solo, which would have been directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle and 2015’s Fantastic Four), but that film never made it out of development. By bringing Fett into The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were able to reestablish the character and set him up for his own series. Ultimately, the reaction to the bounty hunter’s solo show was somewhat mixed. However, with rumors circulating that a second season could be in the works, here are some pros and cons about continuing the series.
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Pro: More Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen
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Though The Book of Boba Fett had issues, none of those flaws were the fault of its central cast. Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen were a massive part of what made the show interesting to watch. Morrison first joined Star Wars way back in the early 2000s with his role as Boba’s father Jango Fett, in Attack of the Clones. To see that role finally come full circle with Morrison now playing Boba was incredibly satisfying for long-time fans of the character. Though Morrison provided some voice re-dubbing for the character in the special editions of the original trilogy, he didn’t don the green suit until he appeared in The Mandalorian. Just as Ewan McGregor has continued to be the perfect choice to follow in Alec Guinness’ footsteps as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Morrison has been another perfect casting choice from the prequels that has paid dividends in the current era of Star Wars. Though some creative choices with the character of Boba Fett didn’t pan out as well as they could have in the new show, Morrison really sells every line of dialogue and his performance is too good to just abandon the character completely.
On top of that, Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand has become another integral part of this new phase of Star Wars that was kicked off by The Mandalorian. For fans of the animated shows, it was exciting to see Fennec show up in The Bad Batch, with Wen returning to provide voice work for the character. Wen is an incredible actor, and she has been a perfect fit for this character and the Star Wars universe as a whole. Fennec has become one of the coolest scoundrels in the galaxy, and it would be a shame not to use the character more moving forward.
Con: Too Much Tatooine
One of the biggest complaints fans have had about Star Wars recently is that the franchise has been spending too much time on Tatooine. It’s a valid complaint. As expansive as the Star Wars galaxy is, Tatooine has been visited in six of the eleven films and every live-action show on Disney+ so far. It appeared in multiple episodes of both seasons of The Mandalorian; the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was largely set on the planet, and The Book of Boba Fett barely bothered to leave the planet at all. If Lucasfilm decides to make more of The Book of Boba Fett, it would be another extensive visit to the desert planet which fans just aren’t really looking for right now.
While the argument could be made that a second season of the Boba Fett series could take the character off-world, the first season did a lot of work to firmly establish the planet as Fett’s home base. He and Fennec have pretty solidly set up their gangster operations in Jabba’s Palace, and to take them away from there could risk undermining much of the work the first season did. So while it would be great to see these characters again, a second season of the show would almost certainly re-use many of the same overly used settings and situations as the first.
Pro: Continuing the Stories of Established Characters
All the time spent on Tatooine recently hasn’t been for nothing though, as there have been many new and interesting characters introduced on the planet that could be worth revisiting. One of the most notable was Cobb Vanth, the Marshall of the small settlement of Freetown (formerly Mos Pelgo). Vanth was originally introduced into the Star Wars canon through a trilogy of books, starting with Star Wars: Aftermath, and he was brought into live-action during the second season of The Mandalorian, where he was played by Timothy Olyphant. Vanth also reappeared in The Book of Boba Fett, where he was nearly killed by the swift gun of the bounty hunter Cad Bane. A post-credits scene from the season finale confirmed that Vanth survived his wound and is being healed in Fett’s bacta tank. Surely there are plans for the character if Favreau and Filoni would go out of their way to confirm his survival in a teasing scene like that.
In addition to Olyphant’s sheriff, there are numerous other characters on Tatooine that would be worth revisiting in a second season of The Book of Boba Fett. Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner’s mod artist is one character that would be fun to explore more in a second season. The fearsome Wookie Krrsantan, who provided some of the first season’s best action sequences, is also still in the employment of Boba Fett. Krrsantan is another character that was pulled into the live-action Star Wars shows after being first introduced in the wider canon, specifically through the Darth Vader comic books. Seeing another Wookie character in Star Wars was one of the most exciting parts of The Book of Boba Fett, and surely there are more gangsters for Krrsantan to relieve of their arms going forward.
Con: Not Expanding the Universe
The Mandalorian has told a completely new Star Wars story that is primarily focused on new characters, which is a big reason why it’s one of the best things the franchise has done since the original trilogy. While the first season of The Book of Boba Fett was entertaining, it did little to actually develop and expand the universe it exists in. Much of what was seen in the show was just new iterations of what had already been done. While the concept of exploring more of the criminal underworld of the galaxy was intriguing, the show didn’t actually do much of that. It was more focused on Boba, very specifically taking over a part of Tatooine. Outside the various crime families of Mos Espa and another live-action appearance by the Pyke Syndicate, The Book of Boba Fett added very little to what is already known about the criminal side of Star Wars.
While a second season could see Boba and Fennec fending off the Hutts to maintain their claim on Tatooine, that still doesn’t add much to what has already been explored in both the live-action films and the animated shows. As interesting as it may be, there’s really nothing new there. The marketing for The Book of Boba Fett pitched the series as a gritty crime story in the vein of The Sopranos or The Godfather, which it wasn’t really. It’s always possible the show could become that in future seasons, but at that point, the series would basically just be trying over on what the first season failed to do. It would become stagnant, which would only add to the fan disappointment in the show as other series like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and (hopefully) The Acolyte push Star Wars in new and more exciting directions.
Pro: Bounty Hunters and Gangsters
The bounty hunters of Star Wars have always been some of the coolest and most underutilized characters on screen. Many fan-favorite characters such as Bossk, Dengar and even Boba Fett were introduced in minor appearances in The Empire Strikes Back, and they have since gone on to have many different adventures throughout the galaxy. The inclusion of some of these other bounty hunters is one area in which The Book of Boba Fett let fans down a bit in its first season. While arguably the coolest of all bounty hunters, Cad Bane, does make his live-action debut on the show; his inclusion ended up being more of an afterthought rather than an extensive and exciting appearance.
With Boba and Fennec now running their own operations out of Tatooine, they could hire various bounty hunters to take care of their business throughout the galaxy. In that way, season two of The Book of Boba Fett could be more of a general bounty hunting show that would explore many of these different characters. This approach would also get the series off Tatooine and allow it to travel to various unexplored corners of the galaxy. Season two could embrace the same episodic approach as The Mandalorian and some of the animated Star Wars material and give each bounty hunter their own episode for their specific adventure, with all of it tying back to Boba’s dealings as a new crime lord.
Con: A Lackluster Story
Ultimately, what was most disappointing about The Book of Boba Fett was how the show failed to present a cohesive and compelling story with the iconic character. While everything with him establishing his new position on Tatooine was somewhat interesting, it didn’t have the same thrilling atmosphere to it as much of the other Star Wars material that has been produced lately. Even Favreau seemed to have lost interest in its story while writing it, as in its final few episodes the show completely shifts focus back to The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin and Grogu. Episodes five and six of the show are basically just episodes of The Mandalorian, with Boba Fett only briefly appearing in the latter.
While those two episodes did make for some truly incredible Star Wars television, they were not great episodes of The Book of Boba Fett. They were a completely different show than the four episodes that preceded them. Boba Fett’s story was already running out of steam in episodes three and four, and the dramatic switch back to episodes of The Mandalorian grinded the entire central plot of the series to a halt. While the finale tried to get back to the events seen earlier in the season, it ultimately failed to provide a truly cohesive series. If there wasn’t a good enough story with Boba Fett to solidly fill one season of the show, then it’s doubtful that the series could support a second outing. With that, it might just be best to bring Boba and Fennec back as supporting characters in future seasons of The Mandalorian, instead of wasting everyone’s time with a second season that would likely just disappoint again.
